MERALCO big man Raymond Almazan overcame the daunting task of battling San Miguel Beer star June Mar Fajardo in the recently concluded PBA Philippine Cup finals where the Bolts triumphed.
What the veteran cager could not contain were his emotions and tears of joy after finally winning another crown–at the expense of the fancied Beermen.
“Masarap iyong feeling kasi we’re not a stacked team,” said Almazan, a member of the Rain or Shine side that ruled the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup in 2016. “Alam ninyo naman iyon. Wala kaming masyadong star player.
“Basta, we believe in our system, and we believe in each other through ups and downs,” he added.
The gangling 6-foot-8 center, who was acquired by Meralco in 2019 from the Elasto Painters for two first-round picks, likened Meralco’s unlikely path to the Promised Land to Rain or Shine’s title win in the import-spiced tourney.
“Puwede ko itong ihalintulad sa 2016 (championship) namin, kasi talagang we built itong team na ito since I got traded to Meralco,” Almazan said.
But a 3-5 start to the season-ending tilt nearly convinced the former Letran standout the Bolts did not have what it takes, especially after Meralco cruised faced the Ginebra Kings in the semis.
But they got the job done in seven games before hurdling SMB in six in the Big Dance.
“Ito totoo ito, noong nasa bottom two na kami sa standings, I was planning to tell my wife na, ‘Ma, mukhang maaga tayo magpapahinga ngayon.’ Kasi talagang nasa pangalawa na kami (sa ibaba),” Almazan said. “Tapos mga kalaban namin Ginebra, San Miguel.
“Mabibigat. So, we grinded it out. One game at a time. So iyon, ito ang resulta.
Napakasarap sa feeling.”
Having lost in the finals before with Meralco, the third time proved to be a charm for Almazan.
“Sobrang daming pinagdaanan ng team namin. Start ng conference bad start kami. Nasa bottom kami. Daming ups and downs. Daming injuries,” he said.
“Nagtiwala kami sa isa’t isa na kaya namin. Kaya sobrang saya kapag pinaghirapan mo talaga ang championship.”
Almazan, with his wife Liza and two children, walked out of the Smart Araneta Coliseum beaming with bliss–something missing from him for quite some time until he finally won his second ring.
